Dances of Universal Peace uses dance as a means of reconciliation and fostering peace. Dance can express all human emotions and lead to transcendental states. The Dances of Universal Peace are Sacred Dances which do not require any musical or dance experience. The sessions are about taking part and are not a performance. There are no special costumes. Comfortable clothes are the only requirement. The setting for the dances should have a peaceful, sacred feeling.
A session begins by everyone joining hands and forming a circle with the Dance Leader and musicians in the middle. The Leader then teaches the words, music and movements. The background history associated with that particular dance is explained.
There are more than 400 Dances of Universal Peace drawn from many faiths and traditions. They focus on themes such as Peace in all its contexts, healing of the Earth, it's peoples, its flora and fauna and in the deeper mysteries.This inclusion of the beliefs of many peoples and religions creates an opening of the heart and a feeling of the brotherhood and sisterhood of all peoples. Performing the dances help the participants to understand and appreciate both the similarities and differences of various religions and cultures.
On the occasions when the dance lyrics include sacred phrases in languages not spoken by the participants the pronunciation of the words is very carefully taught. The majority of dances are only four lines long and are repeated over and over again. The combination of these factors is that the participants learn the songs quickly and easily. Within ten minutes everyone is singing, dancing and sharing the wonderful power of the dances.
The Dances of Universal Peace were collated in the late 1960's by Samuel L. Lewis (1896-1971) a Sufi teacher and Zen Master. He studied in great depth the mystical traditions of Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity. Hazrat Inayat Khan and Ruth St. Denis were major influences on his thinking. In the 70's Lewis began to create the dances as a way of promoting.
Article Source: http://www.fitnesshealtharticles.com.
About the Author:
Dzagbe Cudjoe is a dance movement therapist and ethnologist with wide experience of dance in Africa and Europe. As an ethnologist her main field of research was into West African traditional religion. Her area of specialization is working with children who have challenging behaviour or severe physical and intellectual special needs. Dzagbe is now working on helping the parents of such children to appreciate the healing effects of dance. She is the author of the e-manual.
Express Your Longing for World Peace Through Dance
